The Hoedown is a 2-day surf paddling festival presented by Olympic Raft and Kayak at beautiful Hobuck Beach in Neah Bay, WA. Competition in 10 paddling events, plus all the camaraderie and good times you can find in our paddlin' family. Come on out!

Monday, October 11, 2010

As advertised, Licensed Masseuse Cathy Federici made it out to the Hoedown and offered a day and a half of her time to curing your aching muscles pre- and post-paddling. All this with most of the proceeds going to the Smilin’ Dave Mottershead fund. You are a generous and wonderful friend, Cathy! Thanks again for being there!

The best thing about the Hoedown was coming home with this box full of $1,600 in your donations, which is now in Dave and Helaine’s very thankful hands.

The 2010 Hoedown is a wrap, but those of us who were out there are still talking about the awesome weather, sweet waves, amazing competition and the whole weekend full of friendship. All that plus an amount of generosity that really shows the heart and soul of the surf paddle community.

Here are some links to pictures and narratives of the 3 days we shared together.

***PLEASE REUSE OR SHARE PHOTOS ONLY WITH PERMISSION FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND PROPER CREDIT GIVEN***

Rob Casey is an amazing photographer, good friend and terrific guy. He would have been competitive in pretty much every event out there but he hung on the beach shooting with the camera. He culled out this amazing album from his 2,000-plus images of the weekend. Rob’ new love is SUP, including instruction as owner of Salmon Bay Paddle, so make sure you get with Rob for a lesson.

Heather Nelson and her husband Brandon each posted awesome narratives on their blog at chargelife.com. Heather’s description of Saturday’s Scramble Race warrants another hearty shoutout to Heather and the other 12 racers (total 11 sea kayakers and 2 SUPers) who braved the surf for this inaugural event.

Speaking of Deb, many many thanks to Deb, Hamp All, Rob Casey, Jameson Riser, all the judges and volunteers tallying points behind the scenes, but especially Deb who was so enthusiastic about this event, helping and encouraging this rookie organizer all along.

Thanks to Dennis Judson and the Santa Cruz crew who loaned us the jerseys for competition day.

And thanks as always to our sponsors. If you guys want another well-supported event with awesome prizes and a chance for everyone to win some really cool gear, GET OUT THERE and BUY STUFF from THESE PLACES…

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Miz Deb, the brains behind Hoedown logistics, lays down the law to competitors before the surfing starts.

Thanks again to everyone who came out this weekend! What an awesome time was had by all, without a whole lot of carnage… and the weather, man, someone was watching out for us.

Thanks to your generosity, the Hoedown raised over $1,600 to help out our buddy Smilin’ Dave Mottershead and his wife Helaine as they work through his cancer treatments. That says a lot about our community, just a few dozen people caring so much about one of our own family.

Here are the finals results for the 2010 Hobuck Hoedown. Prelims will be posted separately.

Saturday events:

Sea Kayak/SUP Scramble:

Women’s Sea Kayak:

1st place: Karen Stevens, 28:50

Men’s Sea Kayak:

1st: Steve Hiegel, 20:02

2nd: Ed Hand, 20:28 (& hands-down carnage award winner!)

3rd: Jason Kiwi, 20:51

Women’s SUP:

1st: Heather Nelson, 25:11

Men’s SUP:

1st: Ken Campbell, 33:11

Women’s I.C.:

1st place: Jameson Riser, 59 pts.

2nd: Ayu Othman, 55 pts.

Men’s I.C.:

1st: Hamp All, 61.5

2nd: Jory Kahn, 51.5

3rd: Steve Hiegel, 48.5

Sunday events:

Men’s Sea Kayak:

1st: Brandon Nelson, 47

2nd: Steve Hiegel, 46

3rd: Tom Cromwell, 33.5

Men/Women combined SUP:

1st: Matt Zenobi, 40

2nd: Ellen DeBondt, 34

3rd: David Quasha, 27

Men’s Whitewater/Rodeo:

1st: Cameron Little, 52.5

2nd: Bryon Dorr, 52

3rd: Marc Emmons, 44.5

4th: Jeffrey Steehler, 36.5 *** Jeffrey, age 12, is our youngest competitor ever at the Hoedown. Hoping this starts a trend and we can rock a Juniors division next year!

Register here for the 2013 Hobuck Hoedown:

Welcome to the Hoedown!

The Hobuck Hoedown is presented by Olympic Raft & Kayak in Port Angeles, WA. Visit them at http://www.raftandkayak.com/ or stop in on your way to the Hoedown, just off Highway 101 where it crosses the Elwha River.

About Me

When not playing on the water, Bill uses his years of experience in paddlesports and outdoor industries to encourage his fellow humans to get up off the couch and out the door.
This blog features regular profiles of cool, innovative activities with a "yes you can do this" attitude. Read on, read regularly.